1.

8 Using Transformations to Graph

Functions of the Form
y 5 af [k(x 2 d )] 1 c
GOAL YOU WILL NEED
• graph paper or
Apply combinations of transformations, in a systematic order, to graphing calculator
sketch graphs of functions.

LEARN ABOUT the Math

Neil wants to sketch the graph of f (x) 5 23 !2(x 1 4) 2 1.

? How can Neil apply the transformations necessary to sketch the graph?

EXAMPLE 1 Applying a combination of transformations

Sketch the graph of f (x) 5 23 !2(x 1 4) 2 1. State the domain and range of
the transformed function.
Neil’s Solution

The parent function is f (x) 5 !x. The function is a transformed square root function.

Vertical stretch by a Horizontal translation

factor of 3 4 units left

Vertical
f(x) =
3 2(x + 4)
1 translation I looked at each part of the function and wrote down all
1 unit down the transformations I needed to apply.
Reflection in Horizontal compression
the x-axis 1
by a factor of —
2

First I divided the x-coordinates of points on y 5 ! x by 2

y
10
to compress the graph horizontally by the factor 12 .
8
6
y = 2x f(x ) f(2x )
4
(0, 0) (0, 0)
2 y= x
a , 1b
x 1
(1, 1)
2

10
8
6
4
2 0 2 4 6 8 10

2 (4, 2) (2, 2)

4
a4 , 3b
1
(9, 3)

6 2

8

10

NEL Introduction to Functions 61

 y I multiplied the y-coordinates of y 5 "2x by 3 to stretch
10 y = 3 2x the graph vertically by the factor 3.
8
6 f(x ) f(2x ) 3f(2x )
y = 2x
4 (0, 0) (0, 0) (0, 0)

a , 1b a , 3b
2 y= x 1 1
(1, 1)
x 2 2

10
8
6
4
2 0 2 4 6 8 10 (4, 2) (2, 2) (2, 6)

2
(9, 3) a4 , 3b a4 , 9b
1 1

4
2 2

6

8

10

y
10 y = 3 2x I flipped the graph of y 5 3"2x over the x-axis.
8
f(x ) f(2x ) 3f(2x ) 23f(2x )
6
y = 2x (0, 0) (0, 0) (0, 0) (0, 0)
4
a , 1b a , 3b a , 23b
y= x 1 1 1
2 (1, 1)
x 2 2 2

10
8
6
4
2 0 2 4 6 8 10 (4, 2) (2, 2) (2, 6) (2, 26)

2
a4 , 3b a4 , 9b a4 , 29b
1 1 1

4 (9, 3)
2 2 2

6

8
y =
3 2x

10

62 Chapter 1 NEL
 1.8

Translate the graph 4 units left and 1 unit down. I did both shifts together. I subtracted 4 from each of
the x-coordinates and subtracted 1 from each of the
y-coordinates of the graph of y 5 23 ! 2x.
y
10 y = 3 2x
8
f(x) f(2x) 3f(2x) 23f(2x) 23f(2(x 1 4) )21
6
y = 2x (0, 0) (0, 0) (0, 0) (0, 0) A24, 21B
4
a , 1b a , 3b a , 23b a23 , 24b
y= x 1 1 1 1
2 (1, 1)
2 2 2 2
x

10
8
6
4
2 0 2 4 6 8 10 (4, 2) (2, 2) (2, 6) (2, 26) (22, 27)

2
a4 , 3b a4 , 9b a4 , 29b a , 210b
1 1 1 1

4 (9, 3)
2 2 2 2

6
y =
3 2(x + 4)
1

8
y =
3 2x

10

Domain 5 5x [ R | x $ 246 From the final graph, x $ 24 and y # 21.

Range 5 5y [ R | y # 216

Reflecting
A. How do the numbers in the function f (x) 5 23 !2(x 1 4) 2 1 affect
the x- and y-coordinates of each point on the parent function ?
B. How did Neil determine the domain and range of the final function?
C. How does the order in which Neil applied the transformations compare with
the order of operations for numerical expressions?
D. Sarit says that she can graph the function in two steps. She would do both
stretches or compressions and any reflections to the parent function first and
then both translations. Do you think this will work? Explain.

NEL Introduction to Functions 63

 APPLY the Math
EXAMPLE 2 Applying transformations to the equation
and the graph
1
Some transformations are applied, in order, to the reciprocal function f (x) 5 :
x
• horizontal stretch by the factor 3
• vertical stretch by the factor 2
• reflection in the y-axis
• translation 5 units right and 4 units up

a) Write the equation for the final transformed function g(x).

b) Sketch the graphs of f (x) and g(x).
c) State the domain and range of both functions.

Lynn’s Solution

a) g(x) 5 af 3k(x 2 d )4 1 c I built up the equation from the

transformations.
5 2f c2 (x 2 5) d 1 4
1
3 A horizontal stretch by the factor 3
and a reflection in the y-axis means
2 that k 5 2 13.
5 14
a2 (x 2 5) b
1
a 5 2, because there is a vertical
3
stretch by the factor 2.
d 5 5 and c 5 4, because the
translation is 5 units right and
4 units up.

b) Graph of f (x):

y
4
2 I sketched the graph of f(x) and
(1, 1) labelled the points (1, 1) and
x
(21, 21). The vertical asymptote

4
2 0 2 4
is x 5 0 and the horizontal asymptote
(
1,
1)
2 is y 5 0.

4

64 Chapter 1 NEL
 1.8

y I applied the stretches and reflection

4 to the labelled points by multiplying
(
3, 2) the x-coordinates by 23 and the
2 (1, 1)
x y-coordinates by 2.

4
2 0 2 4 (1, 1) became (23, 2) and (21, 21)

(
1,
1)
2 (3,
2) became (3, 22). The asymptotes did

4 not change, since x and y still couldn’t
be 0.

I made a sketch of the stretched and

reflected graph before applying the
translation.

Graph of g(x): To apply the translations, 5 right and

4 up, I drew in the translated
y asymptotes first.
8 2

冊 冊
y = ——————— +4 Since all the points moved 5 right, the
1 (x
5)
6
– new vertical asymptote is x 5 5.
(2, 6) 3
y= 4 4 Since all the points moved up 4, the
2 1 (8, 2) new horizontal asymptote is y 5 4.
y=–
x x Then I drew the stretched and

4
2 0 2 4 6 8 10 reflected graph in the new position

2 after the translation.

4 I labelled the graphs and wrote the
x= 5
equations for the asymptotes.

c) For f (x), I used the equations of the

Domain 5 5x [ R | x 2 06
asymptotes to help determine the
domain and range.
Range 5 5 y [ R | y 2 06
The graphs do not meet their
For g(x), asymptotes, so for f(x), x cannot be 0
Domain 5 5x [ R | x 2 56 and y cannot be 0. Also, for g(x), x

Range 5 5 y [ R | y 2 46
cannot be 5 and y cannot be 4.

NEL Introduction to Functions 65

 EXAMPLE 3 Factoring out k before applying transformations

For f (x) 5 x 2, sketch the graph of g(x) 5 f (25x 1 10).

Stefan’s Solution

g(x) 5 f (25x 1 10) I wrote g(x) in af 3k(x 2 d)4 1 c

5 f 325(x 2 2)4 form by factoring out k 5 25.

y = f(5x)
y
10
8
I graphed y 5 f(x) and compressed
6
the graph horizontally by the factor
4 y = f(x) 1
5 . This gave me the graph of

2 y 5 f(5x).
x

4
2 0 2 4

2

y = (
5x)2
y
10
8
6 I reflected y 5 f(5x) in the y-axis.
The graph of y 5 f(25x) looked
4 y = f(x)
the same because the y-axis is the
2 axis of symmetry for y 5 f(5x).
x

4
2 0 2 4

2

y = (
5x)2
y
10
y = f(x)
8
6 I translated the compressed and
reflected graph 2 units right. This
4 gave me the graph of
2 f(
5(x
2)) y 5 f 325(x 2 2)4.
x

4
2 0 2 4

2

66 Chapter 1 NEL
 1.8

EXAMPLE 4 Identifying the equation of a transformed function from its graph

Match each equation to its graph. Explain your reasoning.

4. y 5 " 20.4(x 2 4) 1 3
1
1. y 5 22 7. y 5 23(x 1 1) 2 1 4
0.3(x 1 1)
2. y 5 24|x 1 2| 1 1 5. y 5 (0.5(x 2 4) ) 2 1 2

3. y 5 2 "3(x 1 2) 2 1
5
6. y 5
x
A D y G y
y
8 8 8

4 (1, 5) 4 (
1, 4)4

(
2, 1) x x
x

8
4 0 4 8
8
4 0 4 8
8
4 0 4 8

4
4
4
(0,
7)

8
8
8

B y E y
8 8
4 4
x ( 7 ,
1 ) x
3

8
4 0 4 8
8
4 0 4 8
(
2,
1)
4
4

8
8

C y F y
8 8
(0, 6)
4 4 (4, 3)
(4, 2) x x

8
4 0 4 8
8
4 0 4 8

4
4

8
8

Donna’s Solution
1
Graph A matches equation 6. Graph A is like the graph of y 5 , but it has been
x
stretched vertically. The point (1, 1) has been stretched to
5
(1, 5), so the scale factor is 5. The equation really is y 5 .
x

NEL Introduction to Functions 67

Graph B matches equation 3. This is the graph of a square root function that has been
flipped over the x-axis, so, in the equation, a will be
negative.

The parent square root graph has been compressed

horizontally or stretched vertically. It starts at (22, 21)
instead of (0, 0), so it has been translated 2 units left and
1 unit down. So, c 5 22 and d 5 21.

Graph C matches equation 5. Graph C is a parabola, so it has to match equation 5 or

equation 7. Since a . 0, the parabola opens upward,
so the answer can’t be equation 7 and has to be
equation 5.

I checked: The vertex is (4, 2), so d 5 4 and c 5 2.

Graph C is wider than the parent function, so it has been

stretched horizontally or compressed vertically. Equation 5
is the equation of a parabola with vertex (4, 2), that
opens up, and that has been stretched horizontally by the
1
factor 0.5 5 2.

Graph D matches equation 2. This is the graph of an absolute value function.

The parent graph has been reflected in the x-axis,
stretched vertically, and shifted 2 units left and
1 unit up. The equation must have a , 21, d 5 22,
and c 5 1.

1
Graph E matches equation 1. This is a transformation of the graph of y 5 , so the
x
answer has to be equation 1 or equation 6. The
equations for the asymptotes are x 5 21 and y 5 22,
so d 5 21 and c 5 22. This matches equation 1.

Also, in the equation, k 5 0.3 means that the parent

1
graph has been stretched horizontally by the factor 0.3 .
The point (1, 1) on the parent graph becomes A 3 , 1B,
10

1
when you multiply the x-coordinate by 0.3 . Then, this point
becomes A 73, 21B, when you apply the translations by
subtracting 1 from the x-coordinate and 2 from the
y-coordinate.

68 Chapter 1 NEL
 1.8

Graph F matches equation 4. This is another square root function. The parent function
has been flipped over the y-axis, so k , 0. It has been
stretched horizontally, so 21 , k , 0, and translated
4 units right and 3 units up, so d 5 4 and c 5 3.

Graph G matches equation 7. Graph G is a parabola that opens down, so it has to

match equation 7 because it is vertically stretched
(narrow) and has vertex at (21, 4). Equation 7 has
a 5 23, which means that the parabola opens down and
is vertically stretched by the factor 3. Also, c 5 21 and
d 5 4, which means that the vertex is (21, 4), as in
graph G.

In Summary
Key Ideas
• You can graph functions of the form g(x) 5 af 3k(x 2 d)4 1 c by applying the
appropriate transformations to the key points of the parent function, one at a
time, making sure to apply a and k before c and d. This order is like the order of
operations for numerical expressions, since multiplications (stretches, compressions,
and reflections) are done before additions and subtractions (translations).
• When using transformations to graph, you can apply a and k together, then c
and d together, to get the desired graph in fewer steps.

Need to Know
• The value of a determines the vertical stretch or compression and whether
there is a reflection in the x-axis:
• When |a| . 1, the graph of y 5 f(x) is stretched vertically by the factor |a|.

• For 0 , |a| , 1, the graph is compressed vertically by the factor |a|.

• When a , 0, the graph is also reflected in the x-axis.

• The value of k determines the horizontal stretch or compression and whether

there is a reflection in the y-axis:
1
• When |k| . 1, the graph is compressed horizontally by the factor .
|k|
1
• When 0 , |k| , 1, the graph is stretched horizontally by the factor .
|k|
• When k , 0, the graph is also reflected in the y-axis.

• The value of d determines the horizontal translation:

• For d . 0, the graph is translated d units right.

• For d , 0, the graph is translated d units left.

• The value of c determines the vertical translation:

• For c . 0, the graph is translated c units up.

• For c , 0, the graph is translated c units down.

NEL Introduction to Functions 69

 CHECK Your Understanding
1. Use words from the list to describe the transformations indicated by the arrows.
horizontal x-axis
vertical y-axis A D
stretch factor
compression up
f(x) = 5
3(x
2) + 4 E
reflection down
translation right
B C
left
2. Match each operation to one of the transformations from question 1.
Divide the x-coordinates by 3. A
Multiply the y-coordinates by 5. B
Multiply the x-coordinates by 21. C
Add 4 to the y-coordinate. D
Add 2 to the x-coordinate. E
3. Complete the table for the point (1, 1).

f(x ) f(3x) f(23x) 5f(23x) 5f(23(x 2 2)) 1 4

(1, 1)

PRACTISING
4. Explain what transformations you would need to apply to the graph of
K y 5 f (x) to graph each function.
2
a) y 5 3f (x) 2 1 c) y 5 f (2x) 2 5 e) y 5 f (x 1 3) 1 1
3
y 5 f (x 2 2) 1 3 d) y 5 2f a xb 2 2 f ) y 5 4f (2x) 2 4
1
b)
2
5. Sketch each set of functions on the same set of axes.
a) y 5 x2, y 5 3x2, y 5 3(x 2 2) 2 1 1
b) y 5 " x , y 5 "3x , y 5 "23x , y 5 "23(x 1 1) 2 4
c) y 5 1 , y 5 2 , y 5 2 2 , y 5 2 2
13
x x x x21
d) y 5 |x|, y 5 ` x `, y 5 2 ` x` , y 5 2 ` (x 1 3) ` 22
1 1 1
2 2 2
6. Explain what transformations you would need to apply to the graph of
y 5 f (x) to graph each function.

a) y 5 f a (x 1 4) b
1
c) y 5 23f (2(x 2 1) ) 2 3
3
b) y 5 2f (2 (x 2 3) ) 1 1

70 Chapter 1 NEL
 1.8

7. If f (x) 5 x2, sketch the graph of each function and state the domain and range.
a) y 5 f (x 2 2) 1 3 c) y 5 0.5f (3(x 2 4) ) 2 1

b) y 5 2f a (x 1 1) b 1 2
1
4
8. If f (x) 5 "x , sketch the graph of each function and state the domain and
range.
a) y 5 f (x 2 1) 1 4 c) y 5 22f (2 (x 2 2) ) 1 1

b) y 5 f a2 (x 1 4) b 2 3
1
2
9. If f (x) 5 |x|, sketch the graph of each function and state the domain and
range.
1
a) y 5 2f (x 2 3) c) y 5 2 f (3 (x 1 2) ) 1 4
2
b) y 5 4f (2(x 2 1) ) 2 2

1
10. Describe the transformations that you would apply to the graph of f (x) 5
x
to transform it into each of these graphs.

c) y 5 0.5a b
1 1 1
a) y 5 e) y 5
x22 x 2x
1 2 1
b) y 5 1 2 d) y 5 f) y 5 2
x x x
11. For f (x) 5 x2, sketch the graph of g(x) 5 f (2x 1 6).

12. For f (x) 5 "x , sketch the graph of h(x) 5 f (23x 2 12).

13. For f (x) 5 |x|, sketch the graph of p(x) 5 f (4x 1 8).

14. Low and high blood pressure can both be dangerous. Doctors use a special
A index, Pd, to measure how far from normal someone’s blood pressure is. In
the equation Pd 5 |P2P |, P is a person’s systolic blood pressure and P is the
normal systolic blood pressure. Sketch the graph of this index. Assume that
normal systolic blood pressure is 120 mm(Hg).
Distance
15. Bhavesh uses the relationship Time 5 Speed to plan his kayaking trips.
Tomorrow Bhavesh plans to kayak 20 km across a calm lake. He wants to
20
graph the relation T(s) 5 s to see how the time, T, it will take varies with
his kayaking speed, s. The next day, he will kayak 15 km up a river that flows
15
at 3 km/h. He will need the graph of T(s) 5 s 2 3 to plan this trip. Use
transformations to sketch both graphs.
16. The graph of g (x) 5 "x is reflected across the y-axis, stretched vertically by
the factor 3, and then translated 5 units right and 2 units down. Draw the
graph of the new function and write its equation.
17. The graph of y 5 f (x) is reflected in the y-axis, stretched vertically by the
factor 3, and then translated up 2 units and 1 unit left. Write the equation of
the new function in terms of f.

NEL Introduction to Functions 71

 18. Match each equation to its graph. Explain your reasoning.
3 4
a) y 5 11 e) y 5 2 23
2 (x 2 2) x
b) y 5 2|x 2 3|22 f ) y 5 20.5|x 1 4| 1 2
c) y 5 22!x 1 3 2 2 g) y 5 20.5!1 2 x 1 1
1
d) y 5 (0.25(x 2 2)) 2 2 3 h) y 5 2 (x 1 4) 2 1 1
2

A y E y
8 8
4 4
x x

8
4 0 4 8
8
4 0 4 8

4
4

8
8

B y F y
8 8
4 4
x

8
4 0 4 8
8
4 0 4 8 x

4
4

8
8

C y G y
8 8
4 4
x

8
4 0 4 8 x
8
4 0 4 8

4
4

8
8

D y H y
8 8
4 4
x x

8
4 0 4 8
8
4 0 4 8

4
4

8
8

72 Chapter 1 NEL
 1.8
19. The function y 5 f (x) has been transformed to y 5 af 3k(x 2 d )4 1 c.
Determine a, k, c, and d; sketch the graph; and state the domain and range
for each transformation.
a) A vertical stretch by the factor 2, a reflection in the x-axis, and a
translation 4 units right are applied to y 5 !x.
b) A vertical compression by the factor 12 , a reflection in the y-axis, a
translation 3 units left, and a translation 4 units down are applied to
1
f (x) 5 .
x
c) A horizontal compression by the factor 13 , a vertical stretch by the factor
3, a translation 1 unit right, and a translation 6 units down are applied
to y 5 |x|.
20. If f (x) 5 (x 2 2) (x 1 5), determine the x-intercepts for each function.

c) y 5 f a2 xb
1
a) y 5 f (x)
3
b) y 5 24f (x) d) y 5 f (2 (x 1 2) )
21. List the steps you would take to sketch the graph of a function of the form
C y 5 af (k(x 2 d ) ) 1 c when f (x) is one of the parent functions you have
studied in this chapter. Discuss the roles of a, k, d, and c, and the order in
which they would be applied.

Extending
22. The graphs of y 5 x 2 and another parabola are shown.

y
12
8
y = x2
y=? 4

16
12
8
4 0 4 8 x

4

8

a) Determine a combination of transformations that would produce the

second parabola from the first.
b) Determine a possible equation for the second parabola.
23. Compare the graphs and the domains and ranges of f (x) 5 x 2 and
g(x) 5 !x. How are they alike? How are they different? Develop a
procedure to obtain the graph of g(x) from the graph of f (x).

NEL Introduction to Functions 73